US cannot afford to bear all NATO costs — US envoy to NATO

MUNICH:  The United States cannot afford to be a member of an unbalanced alliance where it bears the majority of costs, US Permanent Representative to NATO Matthew Whitaker told the Munich Security Conference.

"We can't have an unequal Alliance where the United States bears the burden. We can't have an unequal Alliance within Europe where certain European countries do a lot more than others. We need everybody to equalize and get stronger together," he said.

At the same time, he expressed hope that the additional defense expenditures, which European allies had to undertake under the US pressure, have made the alliance stronger.

"NATO is stronger right now than certainly it has been in the last five years. And it's probably stronger than it has been since the end of the Cold War," Whitaker added.

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